GOP
says FBI report will be secret; Dems say issue now is Kavanaugh credibilityGOP Senate leaders brushed aside Democrats demands for a 24-hour delay
between the production of a new FBI background report and the vote on Supreme
Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer had made
the 24-hour demand in a letter to the top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell,
saying lawmakers should have a chance to digest and talk about the report
before they have to decide on the judges fate. Mr. McConnell said the
updated report will only be available to senators, as has been the practice
for previous nominees. He said he expects senators to hurry over to the
Judiciary Committee to read it once its done. Washington
TimesVOA VIEW: It's time to move on, one way
or another.

Rachel
Mitchell memo boosts Republicans in Kavanaugh battleBolstered by a new memo questioning the reliability of Brett M. Kavanaughs
chief accuser, Republican leaders on Monday set a firm deadline for the
FBI to finish its investigation and for the Senate to vote this week on
elevating Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The memo, written by the
sex-crimes prosecutor Republicans hired to question Christine Blasey Ford
and Judge Kavanaugh at last weeks dramatic hearing, points to numerous
inconsistencies and lack of corroboration for Ms. Blasey Fords account
of the sexual assault she says she suffered when they were in high school
36 years ago. Rachel Mitchell, the prosecutor, said not only wouldnt she
bring a criminal case based on Ms. Blasey Fords account, but she also
doubts it would even be a winning case in a civil suit, where the standards
of proof are lower. Washington TimesVOA VIEW: Dems hate the truth.

Tax
fraud allegations against Trump family to get New York reviewNew York's tax regulators are reviewing possibly fraudulent tax activities
involving President Donald Trump and his family that were detailed Tuesday
by The New York Times, according to the state. The Times published a lengthy
investigation into Trump, his siblings and their father and the various
methods they used to lessen the tax burden on the fortune the children
received from their father, including actions the paper suggested were
fraudulent. A spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance
said the agency was aware of the allegations and vowed to pursue any investigations
necessary. "The Tax Department is reviewing the allegations in the NYT
article and is vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation,"
agency spokesman James Gazzale said in a statement. USA
TodayVOA VIEW: NYT liberal bias.

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Jason
Kander, a star for Democrats, drops out of Kansas City mayoral race to
treat PTSDJason Kander, a rising star of the Democratic party, will end his run
for mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, to seek treatment for PTSD, he said
Tuesday. Kander, an Army veteran once expected to run for president in
2020, revealed he's struggled with depression since returning from Afghanistan
11 years ago. In a note published to Medium, Kander described himself "on
the phone with the VAs Veterans Crisis Line, tearfully conceding that,
yes, I have had suicidal thoughts. And it wasnt the first time." Kander,
a former Missouri secretary of state and 2016 Senate candidate, is also
founder of Let America Vote, the political engagement group he will step
away from during his treatment process. USA TodayVOA VIEW: Dems hate to face the truth.

Pentagon:
Letters to Mattis, Navy chief tested positive for ricinTwo letters addressed to Defense Secretary James Mattis and another
military official tested positive for the toxin ricin at a Pentagon mail
sorting facility, the U.S. Defense Department said Tuesday. A Pentagon
spokesman said tests for two suspicious letters addressed to Defense Secretary
James Mattis and John Richardson, chief of naval operations, were positive
for ricin. The department said the letters did not enter the Pentagon building,
but rather the mail sorting facility on the Pentagon campus but away from
the main building. Officials said all incoming mail to the facility was
being quarantined. UPI

Firearms
company donates AR-15s to school resource officersA firearms dealer this week donated nine AR-15 rifles to a North Dakota
police department to protect public schools. The weapons, donated to police
in Bismarck by the Iowa-based company Brownells, will be kept in safes
in area schools for school resource officers to access in the event of
an active shooter. "Brownells has long supported law enforcement agencies
and military groups -- and related charities," Brownells spokesman Ryan
Repp said in an email. "When we learned that the Bismarck Police Department
wished to enhance their protection of their schools, we elected to assist."
The Bismarck Police Department and Bismarck Public Schools announced their
plan to purchase the AR-15s, along with safes and bleeding control kits,
this summer. They were waiting for the city to approve funding when Brownells
offered to donate the weapons. UPI

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Anti-Kavanaugh
protesters accosting senators have ties to SorosWhen Sen. Jeff Flake was accosted by two women in an elevator on Capitol
Hill, it was seen as one of the most striking moments of last weeks Brett
Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination battle. In the morning, Flake put out
a statement indicating his support for Kavanaugh, but following the elevator
incident, he made a dramatic call in the committee room for a one week
delay so an FBI investigation could investigate sexual abuse allegations
against the nominee. Flake admitted afterwards that the elevator moment
certainly struck a chord with him. FoxVOA VIEW: Liberals should all be defeated.

Trump-Mueller
interview negotiations stall as 2 more prosecutors leave Russia probeDiscussions between Special Counsel Robert Mueller's
office and President Trump's legal team over the conditions of a possible
presidential interview are ongoing, but have "not terribly advanced" from
where they were a couple of weeks ago, a source familiar with the talks
told Fox News Tuesday. Also, The Associated Press reported that two prosecutors
detailed to the Russia investigation for the past year are returning to
their duties in other parts of the Justice Department. They join two other
attorneys who left the team, assigned to investigate potential ties between
Russia and the Trump campaign, over the summer. Fox News' source said negotiations
hit a snag when The New York Times reported on Sept. 21 that Deputy Attorney
General Rod Rosenstein had discussed secretly recording Trump and enlisting
Cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from
office. FoxVOA VIEW: Mueller is wasting American
time and money.

One
is confused, one cant tell the truth: Nelson, Scott savage each other
in debateVoters hoping to find clarity by watching the
first debate between Florida Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
will need a political road map to navigate the litany of allegations the
men threw at each other Tuesday. But this much will be abundantly clear
when the taped event airs: The most expensive U.S. Senate race in the country
may also be the nastiest. In a debate that will be translated into Spanish
across five media markets  reaching a significant segment of the states
2.3 million Hispanic voters  Nelson and Scott spit accusations at each
other for an hour at the Miramar studios of Telemundo 51. Nelson called
Scott a walking conflict of interest and serial liar, and the governor
characterized the senator as a feckless career bureaucrat who bowed to
communists in Cuba. Miami Herald

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Brett
Kavanaugh faced police questioning over 1985 bar brawl  reportThe embattled supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was questioned
by police more than three decades ago following an altercation at a bar,
according to reports. The incident took place in September 1985 when Kavanaugh
was a student at Yale University, according to a police report obtained
by the New York Times on Monday. It is being made public at a time when
Kavanaughs past behavior, particularly his drinking habits, have come
under scrutiny amid allegations of sexual misconduct. According to the
police report, Kavanaugh was accused of throwing ice at a another patron
at a bar in New Haven, Connecticut, after attending a UB40 concert with
his friends. A Yale classmate who released a statement describing the incident,
Charles Ludington, said the group had been staring at the man, believing
he looked like the bands singer; he responded by swearing at them. GuardianVOA VIEW: The NYT likes to twist the truth
and make something out of nothing.

Trump
mocks Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford at campaign rallyPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday repeatedly mocked Christine Blasey
Ford, who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting
her when they were teenagers, despite having said just days ago that he
found her Senate testimony last week "very credible." In a one-man re-enactment
of her appearance before the Judiciary Committee, with his voice alternating
between inquisitor and an impression of Ford, Trump challenged the veracity
of the testimony that has paused Kavanaugh's confirmation. The extended
ridicule of Ford, delivered at the Landers Arena here in deeply conservative
DeSoto County, is in stark contrast to the respectful way in which Trump
and his aides had previously treated her testimony, even as they have stood
by Kavanaugh and his assertion that he never assaulted her or anyone else.
NBCVOA VIEW: Move on.

U.S.
arrests four men in connection to 2017 Charlottesville rallyFour men linked to a white supremacist group
were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the white nationalist rally
that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year, authorities
said. Benjamin Drake Daley, 25, Michael Paul Miselis, 29, Thomas Walter
Gillen, 34, and Cole Evan White, 24, were arrested in California and were
to be transported to Charlottesville after making initial appearances in
federal courts in California on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen said
at a news conference. They were each charged with one count of conspiracy
to violate the federal riots statute and one count of violating the federal
riots statute. Reuters

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US
confidence in Pope Francis plummets amid sexual abuse scandalConfidence in Pope Franciss handling of the sexual abuse scandal that
has engulfed the Catholic church this year has fallen sharply among the
faithful in the US, a new survey shows. Francis, once seen as a charismatic
and popular leader who drew huge crowds of Catholics and non-Catholics
when he visited the US in September 2015, has also seen his personal ratings
plummet. More than a third of Catholics now say the pope is doing a poor
job on the issue of sexual abuse  three times the number who delivered
the same verdict in 2015, according to research by the Pew Research Center.
Overall, six out of 10 Catholics give him a fair or poor rating, while
just three out of 10 say his handling of abuse has been excellent or
good. Guardian

Envelope
believed to contain ricin sent to TrumpAn envelope containing what appeared to be the deadly poison ricin
was sent to President Trump, but never made it to The White House, a report
said Tuesday. The piece of mail sent to Trump appeared to be connected
to two other letters which were sent to the Pentagon, according to CNN.
A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed the receipt of a suspicious envelope
addressed to the president on Oct. 1, CNN said. The envelope was not received
at the White House, nor did it ever enter the White House, the spokesman
said. Earlier on Tuesday it was revealed that two envelopes addressed to
Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John
Richardson initially tested positive for ricin at the Pentagons mail facility.
New
York Post

The
US is about to break its own record for kids who've died in hot cars within
a yearThe United States is on the verge of breaking its record for the number
of children who've died in hot cars within one year, the National Safety
Council warned on Tuesday. Forty-eight children have died in hot cars this
year  one less than the all-time high of 49 deaths, set in 2010, the organization
said. The National Safety Council said it's "deeply concerned that  despite
increased public awareness  we are just a single tragedy away from a level
we hoped never to reach again." Among this year's victims are a 10-month-old
boy in Mississippi, a 1-year-old girl in Tennessee and a 2-year-old boy
in California. ABCVOA VIEW: The parents or those who leave
kids in hot cars should go to jail.

Amid
Kavanaugh questions, Trump says it's not 'acceptable' to lie to CongressPresident Donald Trump said Tuesday his Supreme Court nominee Brett
Kavanaugh is "doing very well" but said his fate will depend on an ongoing
FBI investigation. Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn, Trump also
drew a line on lying to Congress. "I don't think you should lie to Congress
and there are a lot of people over the past year who have lied to Congress,"
he said. "For me, that would not be acceptable." Trump said the FBI is
working very hard on its investigation into sexual assault and misconduct
allegations levied against the judge, which he denies. "A lot is going
to depend on what comes back from the FBI in terms of their additional
-- No. 7 -- investigation," Trump said. CNN

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Senior WHO
official calls for urgent action to end tuberculosis by 2030Countries are not doing enough to end tuberculosis  the worlds deadliest
infectious disease  by 2030, warned the World Health Organization (WHO)
on Tuesday, at the release of the latest Global Tuberculosis Report. The
report shows that worldwide, tuberculosis (TB) cases are falling too slowly
to meet the targets set by WHOs End TB Strategy. The deadly disease, which
usually infects the lungs, remains one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide,
even though its fully treatable, said Dr. Tereza Kasaeva, the Director
of the WHOs Global TB Programme. UN

America
to buzz as phones get 'presidential alert' test WednesdayThe Trump administration will send messages to more than 200 million
U.S. cellphones on Wednesday testing a previously unused presidential alert
system that aims to warn the public in the event of a national emergency.
The test message was originally scheduled for September but was pushed
back to Wednesday at 2:18 p.m. EDT. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), which will send the alert, said the messages would bear the headline
Presidential Alert, and that phones will make a loud tone and have a
special vibration. Reuters

In
New Hampshire, Jeff Flake talks about Kavanaugh, laments "sickness" in
political systemNobody knew when Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, would turn up in Boston.
First, it was 11:30 a.m. at Emerson Colonial Theatre. Then, it was 1 p.m.
on an elevated platform neighboring City Hall. And finally, just before
2 p.m., a voice on stage announced "quite possibly the most newsworthy
man in the world right now," and Flake sauntered onto the dais. He had
committed to speaking at this Forbes "Under 30 Summit" months ago, slotted
for a book-promotion event Monday morning that was billed only as "The
Future of the Republican Party." That was before the sexual assault allegations
surfaced about President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
It was also before the Senate Judiciary Committee called Kavanaugh and
the woman who accused him of sexual assault, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford,
to testify before Congress in an open hearing. And it was before Sen. Flake
-- the "swing vote member" of the committee's GOP majority -- leveraged
his vote to set in motion a brief supplemental FBI investigation into that
very allegation. CBSCOA VIEW: Flake is a real "flake."

Pelosi
explains why she called Kavanaugh 'hysterical'House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who described Judge Brett Kavanaugh's
testimony last week as "hysterical," explained Tuesday she decided to use
that word because of its connection to women. Pelosi, in a wide-ranging
interview with CNN's Dana Bash for The Atlantic's "Women of Washington"
series, also made clear her inclination against impeaching Kavanaugh if
Democrats take the House majority, saying she already has "enough people
on my back" to impeach President Donald Trump. Pelosi noted that if a woman
were to behave the way Kavanaugh did before the Senate Judiciary Committee
on Thursday, she would be treated differently. "Hysterical; the word stems
from the same word as hysterectomy," Pelosi said. "You know it's a word
that is identified with women being very emotional and the rest, so I chose
that word very specifically." CNN

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Independence
of agency 'paramount', stresses UN nuclear chief in apparent response to
Israel's claim of secret Iran siteEvaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and
activities for Iran remain ongoing, UN International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) head, Yukiya Amano said in a statement from his headquarters in
Vienna. The Agency continues to evaluate Irans declarations under the
Additional Protocol, and has conducted complementary accesses under the
Additional Protocol to all the sites and locations in Iran which it needed
to visit, he added, referring to a series of agreements it has with Iran.
The agency chief stressed that "in line with established safeguards practices,
all information obtained, including from third parties, is subject to rigorous
review and assessed together with other available information to arrive
at an independent assessment based on the Agencys own expertise." UN

Cubas
handpicked president displayed multiple faces during visit to the United
NationsOn his first trip to the United States wearing the banner as president
of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel declared at the U.N. General Assembly
last week that he was not a reformer. Yet in various other settings, the
islands appointed leader offered a more fluid image of his style of leadership.
After addressing some 100 Cuban Americans who support normalizing Cuba-U.S.
relations, Díaz-Canel left the podium and spent the rest of the
night chatting with participants. It struck me that he stayed to greet
everyone, said professor Isabel Alfonso, a member of Cuban Americans for
Engagement. He is a charismatic leader, with a great interest in getting
close to the people. He is a regular Cuban. He behaves like he is part
of the group, said Cuban-American businessman Saul Berenthal. He added
that a similar meeting with Raúl Castro in 2015 was completely
different. Miami Herald

Flooding,
severe weather possible in Midwest, SouthwestA new storm system is moving into the Great Lakes and the Midwest on
Wednesday one day after there were three tornadoes reported in Pennsylvania
and flash flooding from Long Island to Westchester County, New York, and
Connecticut. The severe weather could produce tornadoes, damaging winds
and hail. The threat for severe weather will be from Iowa to Michigan --
with the biggest tornado threat in Wisconsin. ABC

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